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Dereck needed to find her. He needed to tell her he still loved her and he still wanted to be together. He needed to beg for her forgiveness.
He ended the call with his friend then and immediately dialed Alina’s number, though he was not surprised when she did not answer. If he was in her shoes, he probably would have shut off his phone, too. Luckily, he had a backup plan.
“Hello Taylor,” Dereck said, his voice low and ears reddening.
“Dereck,” she spat out, animosity in her voice. Taylor had every reason to be upset with him. After all, he crushed her best friend’s heart.
“I’m trying to reach Alina, but her phone is off. Is she with you?” Dereck did his best to keep his voice pleasant.
“Why do you think I would tell you anything?” Taylor was snapping at him. “You broke my friend’s heart!” she shouted.
If Dereck wanted to reach Alina, he had to get Taylor on his side. Taylor was the barrier now and she would do anything to prevent Alina from experiencing any more heartache, even if it meant keeping him far away. However, he didn’t have time to waste. Dereck needed to convince Taylor of his nontoxic motives and the fastest way to do that was to be honest with her. If she knew how he felt, she would not stand in his way.
“I know I messed up Taylor. I never should have said any of those things to Alina, because I didn’t mean it. I still love her and I still want to be with her. Let me get a chance to make things right.”
For a while, there was silence on the other end of the phone as Taylor contemplated his words. Then she released a heavy sigh and shook her head. “I can’t help you because I don’t know where she is.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “Alina left me at the wine bar this afternoon and when I came back to the hotel, I couldn’t find her. The staff said she never returned and as you probably know, her phone is off. I have no way of reaching her.” Taylor took a sharp breath. “I’m worried about her, Dereck. I’ve never seen her that crushed before.”
Dereck knew it wasn’t Taylor’s intention, but she added salt to his injury. It was his fault Alina was in that state. It was his fault she was missing. Now he had to fix it.
“Don’t worry Taylor. I’ll find Alina and make things right.”
Dereck left the bar and headed to his car. The only thing was, he didn’t know where to look for Alina. It was her first time in Connecticut. She had no favorite spots he could think of.
He made a hissing sound between his teeth and rubbed his hand on his pants.
“Think Dereck,” he scolded himself. “Where will Alina go?” Then the thought suddenly hit him. “Of course. Why didn’t I think of this before?”
He started his car immediately and drove to the most obvious place. As soon as he parked the car, Dereck rushed inside the massive building hosting the last night of an exhibition for a famous sculpture. With a wrinkled eyebrow and a stooped posture, he searched the entire art gallery with no luck. He scanned the entire hall of affluent spectators and found no sign of Alina. If she wasn’t there, he had no idea where else she could be. Dropping his head, Dereck closed his eyes and ran his hand along his face.
If anything happened to Alina, he had only himself to blame.
Sighing heavily, Dereck opened his eyes and turned to leave the gallery. That was when he saw her on the far side of the room, in front of the closest sculpture to the washroom. She kept her head fixed on the limbless clay woman, discreetly drying the streams that came from her eye.
Dereck released a sigh, but he couldn’t allow himself to feel relief. Not yet. The work was only half done.
“Alina,” Dereck said as he walked up behind her.
Alina swung around with her eyes wide, shuffling a step. When recognition hit, she positioned herself to walk away from him.
“Wait Alina,” Dereck stopped her, but Alina said nothing. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have treated you like that earlier. You didn’t deserve that.”
Alina kept her eyes away from Dereck, but her stance remained rigid. She kept her fingers folded into a fist and her shoulders tense. “Thank you, Dereck. I appreciate the apology.”
“Can I take you somewhere so we can talk?” Dereck didn’t realize he was holding his breath. “I promise it won’t take long and then I will drop you back at the hotel. Taylor’s worried about you.”
Alina swallowed hard and retracted her arms, bringing them to her torso. “I don’t believe we have anything else to discuss with each other. Let’s just go our separate ways and end it here.”
“Please Alina.” Droplets of sweat moistened Dereck’s face and his forearms were strained. “Can you just listen to what I have to say and if you still feel the same after I’m finished, I promise to never bother you again?”
Alina kept a downcast expression on her face. Then she swallowed hard. Dereck was about to assume the worst when she nodded her head in response.
Alina remained silent as they drove along the coastline. Darkness recently engulfed the area, and the stars were attempting to sparkle. Dereck drove slowly to his favorite spot where he could enjoy the scenery without interruption from others and parked the car, while Alina watched the waves crash on the sand.
At first, he said nothing. He simply listened to the creatures of the night as they came together to create a melody fitting for a lullaby. Then, when he composed himself enough, he broke the silence.
“I remember the first time I saw you,” Dereck said, even though he stared at the back of Alina’s head. “You walked into that restaurant and caught my attention immediately. You were so full of life that your eyes sparkled.” He sighed and hung his head. “They lost that sparkle today. Because of me.”
Alina remained frozen in position, her back facing him.
